A thrilled customer is the biggest WIN a company can have in my opinion. Happy customers can single-handedly keep you in business, and outlasting any challenges a recession or struggling industry may bring about. For Project83, our customers are everything, considering we have yet to spend our first dime on marketing (and don't plan to).

That said, providing an outstanding customer experience in our business (web design and development) takes work—a LOT of work. It's something I was severely under-prepared for in starting this company, and I definitely have room to get better; even after nearly four years of learning.

If you are considering a career in web design or already have one, I feel it's important to be aware of what it takes to WOW a client over the course of a project.

It's a Marathon

When you typically think about customer service, it's a sprint. Purchasing a product in a store, going to a restaurant, or calling a 1-800 number are all forms of customer service that begin and end in a short span of time, thus the reason I call them sprints.

A typical web design project is very different. It's a marathon. It can easily take 3-6 months of work to provide one single outstanding customer experience to a client. That also means you have six months to screw it up.

My advice? Be patient, communicate constantly, take responsibility for mistakes and meet the deadlines you set. Do those things and you've already surpassed most companies in our business.

The Work is Subjective

By providing a creative service, literally nothing we do is black and white. It's all up for debate until you have analytics to back up your theories. All of our work is subjective, and in the end the client has final say on which direction the project goes. If we believe a project is perfect, yet the client believes it's not close, then it's not close. Sometimes that can be a hard pill to swallow.

Consider creative differences as a challenge for you to get better, and to get out of your comfort zone. At times we simply have to trust that our clients understand their business better than we do, and just make what they want happen. At other times you should be honest and try to steer them in another direction. It's a delicate balance, but always make your points with respect, and be willing to move on if they don't agree with you.

Personal Relationships are Everything

Web development is still like any other business in that it revolves around people. Due to the long-term nature of a web project, you are expected to initiate and maintain a great working relationship with the people that hired you, or else things can go downhill. If you are an unbelievable designer with bad people skills, it's virtually impossible to make your customers happy, despite the work being good.

My advice is not to be a hermit (I can struggle with this). Seriously, don't lean solely on email communication with clients. Check-in with them on a regular basis over the phone or in person to keep your relationship on good positive terms. Email can be so easily misinterpreted and cold, that you simply must do more to keep your relationship with a client on solid footing.

It's Not About You

As a matter of personal pride, it is perfectly natural to want each project you work on to be your very best. But that won't always happen, and you have to be able to smile through it.

Web design work is about honoring the client, and providing a product for them that will generate a great return on investment. Most importantly, you want them to have a big smile and tell all their friends about the great experience they had working with you. Do that and everyone wins. Make the project about you or your ego and you will lose most of the time.

I am not writing this post because we have the customer service thing down; because we don't. However, I do think we're getting better at it every day. Being conscious of common pitfalls in our business is the first step in rocking them out and providing outstanding customer service.

It has been about a month since we launched the latest version of Project83.com, and I have been pleasantly surprised by all the great feedback we have been getting.

Version 3 of the website is certainly something we are proud of internally. I feel it is a great representation of who we are and what we value as a company. We have grown a lot in 3.5 years, and it is cool to look back on versions one and two of the site to see how far we have come.

I wanted to spend a little time walking you through the process that got us here, which runs over seven months. Hopefully it will encourage or challenge you in some way:

The New Logo

I never asked for or desired a new logo for Project83. However, I could not be happier with how it ended up. Lesson #1: only great things can result from giving your design team (in my case, Jared) complete creative freedom.

The typography got a well-deserved update. We moved to all caps ("J" sure is a weird letter), changed the font and gave the letters a little breathing room. The new mark is much more relevant, and the colors are much less distracting now. The website matured a great deal in version 3, and it all started with the logo.

Old Logo:

Doing Less

Leaders in our industry have mastered the "less is more" approach to web design. As our team continues to learn more each day, we get better at doing less and making the most of it. Each version of our site has been no exception; less design, less code, less content and fewer overall distractions.

Easier to Update

Thankfully, Project83.com finally runs 100% on our content management system called Springboard. Adding new portfolio items, writing blog posts and updating content has never been easier. Whew!

Especially when it's your own site, you have to do everything possible to make sure it is quick and easy to make updates. Otherwise, you simply will not get to them as often as you should. Find a content management platform you love (if you don't have one try ours!) and make sure to update content regularly.

Copy is Everything

The website copy probably went through at least 15 revisions. This is the first version of our site that I believe was truly built around the copy, which is the way it should be. The site has fewer words than previous versions, yet speaks to our target audience more clearly and persuasively than ever.

I can't overstate the value of spending time on your website copy — and the value of having a little fun with it! It's something I preach every day, but it really hit home in working on this new design. Without quality content, the best designs in the world don't work.

Keep in mind that good content takes time. You won't get it right the first or second or fifth time. Keep at it, and I believe it will prove to be absolutely worthwhile in the end.

I hope you like the new design ... we appreciate your feedback!

After a ton of work, I am excited to announce the launch of Project83.com v3. A much longer post about the site and the various design/branding decisions we made is in the works. For now, just give it a look and feel free to share your thoughts! 

Around here we just LOVE company names with numbers in them. Chalk that up to all the good domains being taken. Studio430 is the home of Jared McDaniel, one of my very closest friends, and the guy behind about 98% of the design work we do. Jared makes all of us look good.

Several months ago, we started working on a new site for his company, which also does unbelievable identity/branding, packaging and print work. Studio430.com is the result.

It's always fun to do a site every once in a while that can be a little more edgy and unique, so we decided to go horizontal. It was really fun, but doing horizontal layouts is not for the faint of heart. Be warned!

From the screenshot, you may notice a new and improved Project83 logo. I'm really excited about how our company is growing, and look forward to finishing some on-site remodeling in the near future as well.

So check out Jared's site and be sure to consider Studio430 for your next big print or branding project!

In late June I moved to New York with my wife and two dogs for the summer. In a previous article I laid out reasons for taking this leap of faith, and what I was hoping to accomplish. Now that we are safely back in Nashville, I wanted to write a follow-up and talk about how the experience went.

Overall I could not have asked for a better experience. I learned a lot, met some really great people and found ways to continue building our small companies. After all, New York is full of people that are the best in the world at what they do, so it was incredible to be in the middle of it. The energy everywhere you look was enough to get me up and to the office right next to Wall Street each morning.

Here is how I stacked up on my 4 objectives:

1. Take Advantage of Proximity (B-)

Meeting new people and trying to earn new business cold turkey gets me out of my comfort zone very quickly. So I will admit, I did not make the most of potential work available in the city. However, I did make the most of existing relationships, and find ways to build our business as a result.

Along with getting a couple of new projects/clients we will be revealing in the near future, I got to start new projects with existing partners like Whiteboard Media in Philadelphia, Voxel Dot Net (our hosting partner), Merchant Plus (our merchant partner), Ubersmith and Twistage. These are all great companies that make sense for us to partner with. Just being there was enough to generate new and exciting projects for the next six months.

2. Enjoy the Commute (A)

It was a transition to travel to work every day, as opposed to working from home. Overall I REALLY enjoyed it, so much that I came back inspired to seek out an office space for our team. As long as you minimize distractions and find ways to get in a productive "zone" (I recommend headphones), being in an office with others is a huge plus. I got more done, and was able to relax much easier at home.

The problem in returning from the New York office commute is that the newly-acquired habits did not stick. I'm back to working more, working later and struggling to make the most of my time for an entire day. Once we find the right office space maybe I can look forward to enjoying the commute again.

3. Blog More (A+)

I am proud to say that I DID make blogging a higher priority while in New York, and I think it will continue that way. This is my 9th post since the initial article about this trip, which is a really great pace for me. At least one article every 10 days is my goal, and I love doing it.

The thing with blogging is MAKING time for it, because you will never HAVE time. I really love it, and come up with a new idea for a post it seems almost every day. This was a great goal that I am pleased to have accomplished.

4. Launch a new Application (A+)

This is a really funny goal to look back on. I actually moved to New York with plans that we would launch an application we have been using and working on slowly for about a year. However, that never happened. Over brunch a couple weeks after moving, a lightbulb went off and I pitched the guys on Feed My Inbox.

Less than a month and only about 3 days of development later we launched, and are now tracking over 3,000 feeds for people through email. The future is very bright as we continue working on new features for Feed My Inbox.

So YES, we launched a new application. It was just not the application I was talking about in the original article. It's a good thing we don't plan more than a week in advance for hardly anything, or else Feed My Inbox would not have happened.

In Closing

If you find yourself contemplating a LEAP of faith today, whether it be leaving the 9-5, taking your business in a new direction or simply moving somewhere to see what happens, ask yourself one question: "other than fear, what is keeping me from taking a leap today?" Chances are, the answer is nothing, and the rewards on the other end of a successful leap are great. Make it happen!

On Monday, we celebrated Project83's 3rd Birthday! As with most any birthday, we had the opportunity to reflect on how the company has grown, talk about the cool stuff we have achieved and dream a bit for the future. Although the photo below may be slightly confusing, these are green, blue and grey (sort of) cupcakes my lovely wife made to celebrate.

I've been lucky to partner with fantastic guys from the beginning that make our work something to be very proud of. A huge thanks goes out to Denny and Jared, also my partners in our little software startup. I also owe a great deal of thanks to the newest member of our team, Jack Behar. I am continually challenged by these guys every day, and they make what we do a lot of fun.

In order to create value with this post, I wanted to talk about a few things learned over the last 3 years. So here goes ...

1. Get Serious About Customer Service

People in our business are not always very good at customer service. Usually it's a mixture of pride, procrastination and bad communication skills that give geeks in our business a bad name. I continually struggle with the first of these things, but luckily I have been taught the importance of customer service.

I don't really care how smart you are or how good your work is. Success is still measured by your ability to help people and deliver on what you promised. We've never spent a dime to market this business, and have always had plenty of work solely because I take it upon myself to make sure the customer is happy.

We have clients that would probably be happy to point out that I am not perfect, but I believe they could all agree that I give everything I have to helping them succeed on the web.

2. Learn from Mistakes

I have never worked for a web company other than my own. Some might consider it a rather daunting task to start something with no real understanding of how the industry works. I saw it as an extraordinary opportunity to make a lot of mistakes, and learn quickly from them.

Everything I know about managing projects, doing proposals, writing contracts, designing comps and building websites is the result of trying different things and making mistakes. In order to properly learn from a mistake and take action, keep in mind you have to recognize it as a mistake and not make excuses or blame the client.

We have learned something new in every project, and after 3 years of making mistakes, I think we are really starting to do fantastic work. What we have learned by doing in 3 years could never happen by reading textbooks or working at some big agency with silly rules. Just get out there, and savour every single opportunity to learn from a mistake.

3. Promote Yourself!

I see companies all the time that are so mixed up in client work and other priorities that they have no time to spend on their own brand and long-term vision for the company. Why is it that marketing companies always have the worst websites? Why don't they practice what they preach in marketing their own business? I for one would never hire a web company that did not have a website I really liked.

Fact is, your website, your logo, your copy and your other stuff is the best opportunity to gain new business and make a great first impression. Don't get so mixed up in the here and now with client work that you forget to always be making your own stuff better.

We are actually working on a re-design of this site right now. It's hard because it takes a ton of time and does not bring in immediate income, but seeing the big picture means knowing how important the new site will be in attracting our ideal clients down the road. It is a great long-term investment and gives us the opportunity to work on a project where WE are the boss.

Here's to many more years of helping people, making mistakes and trying to improve all that we do to promote our services.

All great companies strive for something more than profit. They have a mission; a higher purpose, called values. A company's value system guides their every decision, and defines internal culture. Most importantly, it separates them from their competitors and enables them to achieve great success.

Semco values empowering and trusting their people. Zappos values their customers. Southwest Airlines values a bargain. While Project83 will never be as big or influential as any of these companies, it is still important to define what we value most. We don't want to be big, but we do want to be great.

5 values have helped guide this business from the very beginning, and continue to influence our every decision today:

1. Be Honest and Upfront

Scope and budget are 2 things that can easily get out of hand in a web project without the proper management and foresight. When they do, the project ceases to be fun for anyone.

Before making any financial commitments with us, you will know exactly how long and how much. Period. Even when the answer is not what you want to hear, you will get the truth. And we will stick with it until the project is finished, unless something on your end changes.

Many individuals and firms out there will tell you what you want to hear upfront in order to get the contract, then not deliver. I see this all the time, and we have lost jobs because other companies over-promised. Project83 may not be the cheapest price or shortest timeframe upfront, but you can bet that what you see in the beginning is what you get in the end.

2. Give 110% to the Process

Our process of building websites works, and we dedicate 110% effort to each step along the way. No matter what the size, scope or budget of the project, we stand behind the process and don't take shortcuts.

3. Do Great Work

Our number one goal when starting a project is to do great work. Not only do we strive for perfection aesthetically, but also in the structure and overall "user friendliness" of the site. Make the design more WOWing, make the code a bit lighter, or add one small touch that makes things easy for users. Whatever it is, we strive with each project to do better work than the one before.

It doesn't matter if no one seems to notice the subtle gradient or intelligent use of typography. If it enabled you to do great work for the client and get better at the same time, it is a win-win.

4. Partner with Quality People

Like any other business, the web business comes down to people and relationships. Our goal is to create positive, long-lasting relationships with people founded on mutual respect. We interview our potential customers, and that's been a huge benefit for both sides starting out.

One thing I will be clear about is that we don't take orders. We go into every project with an open mind, willing to learn from what the client has to offer, and we expect the same from the people we work with. If you can't come to us willing to listen to ideas and suggestions that will help the project succeed, then please don't come to us at all. Since value #3 requires us to do great work, that means your users' best interest is always the top priority. Notice I did not say your best interest. The customer or user is the #1 priority.

5. CANI (Constant and Never-Ending Improvement)

A great friend and mentor taught me the concept of CANI, constant and never-ending improvement. Everything we do is constantly under a microscope, and we are looking for ways to do better. We spend significant time CANI'ing everything we do..

Thanks to advanced analytics and tracking data on the web, you can always find ways to CANI your project. So we always look to make measurable improvements in building sites, or optimizing them.

We think these 5 things make Project83 rather unique in our space. What makes your business unique? What is your higher calling past money? Consciously be thinking about what your company values, and how it can be used as the foundation to build a better business.

Today I posted three new showcase sites that we launched in the last couple of months. Amazingly, all three sites are for individuals. Two own very successful consulting companies, and one is a renowned speaker and New York Times bestselling author.

Heartprints Adoption

Heartprints Adoption is the company of Sharon Brani, and she is fully dedicated to helping to-be parents navigate the complicated waters of the adoption process. Through many years of experience, she also shares excellent advice and information about adoption on her blog. It was a pleasure working with her, and a company doing such good work for people.

Lampion Consulting

Lampion is the company of Paul Heagen, a seasoned and very experienced corporate consultant. He works directly with CEOs and leaders of major corporations (Verizon, Disney and Cisco to name a few), and helps them communicate better with employees, shareholders and customers through a number of services. Paul is also an author, with a book called Real Owls Don't Bark available from his website.

Andy Andrews

Andy was one of our very first clients three years ago (still one of our favorites!), and his accomplishments are far too lengthy to begin listing in a couple simple paragraphs. He is a New York Times bestselling author, corporate speaker to virtually every major company you can think of, and more recently has begun blogging (thanks to some gentle prodding from us).

This project was a re-align (for a definition, see this article) from the previous version of the site, improving functionality, focusing on a couple main objectives and moving the whole site to our Springboard content management platform. We could not be more pleased with how it turned out!!

This past Thursday my wife and I completed a move from Nashville to New York City for the summer. It's always been a dream of mine to be here, and we are very excited about finally taking the leap, even if it is only a temporary leap for now. The primary reason for being here is to continue growing Project83 as a company, working with new and existing clients on some exciting projects. Our friends and hosting/merchant partners at Voxel Dot Net and MerchantPlus have provided a space for me in their beautiful offices at 29 Broadway (next to Wall Street), so luckily I get to grow the company in style. My hope with this post is to establish some overall objectives for the summer, and follow-up on them in a subsequent post after we come back to Nashville in September. I fully expect it to be an unpredictable, busy and educational summer.

1. Take Advantage of Proximity

They say proximity is power, and I want to take full advantage of what's happening within a few square miles of the office. For the first time, I am actively seeking out new clients and partners that can benefit from the services we provide. Of course, our clients come from literally all over the place, and that's not going to change. However, my goal is to make a concentrated effort at creating relationships here that can help us grow the company while providing a great benefit to the client. I believe Project83 and our team of guys does incredible work, and provides stellar expertise about the web without the "know-it-all" attitude. Lots of small and medium-sized businesses need people like that, and my goal is to seek them out.

2. Enjoy the Commute

This marks the first time I have had to get out of my pajamas in order to go to work unless I have a meeting. All of our guys work remotely from home, and it works really well. Now that the office is a separate place, it forces me to make the very most of my time there. Staying focused and being as productive as possible in a new work environment is really important. Also, figuring out what hours work best productivity-wise is definitely crucial. The greatest benefit of the 29 Broadway office is the fact that I can separate work from all other stuff much easier. I am enjoying time at home, taking longer walks with the wife and dogs, and overall learning to relax much more as a result of this shift. My hope is that enjoying life a bit more away from the office will make my time in the office much more productive.

3. Blog More

Fact is, this blog is our #1 marketing tool, and a great way to contribute to what is going on in our industry. Blogging is a quality investment of time, so with that and my new personal twitter feed (I know, I'm waaaay late to the twitter party), I am poised to make it a much larger priority. Putting this objective in writing adds just the pressure I need!

4. Launch a new Application

A while back, we had a fantastic idea for a simple web application. We built the basics in about a weekend. I have been using it for over a year, and it has been incredibly useful. SO useful in fact, that we wanted to create it as a service other web developers could use. After getting a little off track for a while, we're back to actively working on it and won't stop until it is finished. The goal is to finish this application up and launch it in September. So I hope to shed more light on it then. Hopefully these lofty objectives are encouragement to anyone else out there that needs to make a "leap" in their life of some sort. Whether it relates to business or personal life, I STRONGLY recommend making that leap and never turning back. Take some calculated risks, do what it takes to grow your business and enjoy yourself in the process!

Our software company, Brightwurks, is looking to hire a developer for ongoing development with our content management product Springboard, and also to help with some large client projects. Here are the details . . . Location: Anywhere, preferably in the US Time Frame: Ongoing contract, potential full-time

Requirements:

• A personality, along with a great work ethic
• 2-3 years plus experience developing web-based applications
• Expert knowledge of working with Java, Struts, JSTL
• Expert knowledge of PHP, and CakePHP experience is a plus
• Expert knowledge of MySQL and/or other relational database management systems
• Understanding of web standards and xhtml/css layouts is a big plus

About Us:

We like to date our people before jumping in the sack, and we believe you deserve the same courtesy. What does that mean? It means we should spend some time getting to know each other and working together before making any long-term career moves. If it's a great fit, we would love to have you! To start, you will be working on a couple of large-scale projects with our team. This includes work on our customized content management platform, called Springboard. These projects will require 20-30 hours per week of work, and you will be paid as a contractor. Those hours can grow into a full-time position if we still like each other after a while. If you want to have another job or some projects on the side, that's fine as long as you can stay on track with our work too. The only way to get great results from a developer is if they really love the work they are doing, so we want to give you work that you are psyched about.

Benefits:

• We intentionally don't have an office. Work when and where you want, as long as you can do quality work and meet reasonable deadlines.
• We treat you like an adult. No micro-managing or silly rules. We currently have a very close team of 4 guys, and you get a say in everything that goes on.
• Each project we work on is different, so the work should be continuously challenging and fun.
• We'll be honest with you. We have nothing to hide. We just need more help!

What's at stake?

The opportunity to get involved in a young, fast-growing company that is trying to build some very successful applications. If you are able to refer the winning candidate to us, there is a referral fee of $200 in it for you. We would appreciate the help. Sorry, you can't refer yourself.

That's perfect for me! How do I apply?

Please send a resume, samples of work and a preferred hourly rate to hireme@brightwurks.com. Or just touch base and send what you can, but make sure you fill the requirements.